Vault or safe.



L. H. BOWMAN & G. L. DAMON.

.VAULT 0R SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED D110. 26,1907.

Patented Apr. 20, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lNvl-:NToR: i H @mmm wlTNEssEs bars are secured in UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

LEE H. BOWMAN, OF MUNHALL, AND GEORGE L. DAMON,A OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

VAULT R SAFE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2o, 1909.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, LEE H. BOWMAN, of Munhall, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and GEORGE L. DAMON, of Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vaults or Safes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-H Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of a vault constructed in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of the same on the line II II of Fig. 1 g Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on a larger scale showing the construction of the joints between the top, bottom or end plates and side plates of the vault; Fig. 4 is a detail view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified construction of the interlocking means at the joints; Fig. 5 is a detail plan view on a larger scale showing one of the interlocking bars employed in conneoting the plates together; Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of one of the wedging keys used in connection with the interlocking bars for tightening the interlocking bars in place g Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the recesses provided to permit the interlocking bars and wedging keys being placed in their slots or grooves, and showing the filler blocks as they are secured in place in these recesses so as to hold the interlocking bars and wedges in position and prevent their becoming displaced.

Our invention relates to the construction of burglareproof vaults or safes and it particularly relates to the type of vaults such as is shown in our copending application for vaults or safes, Serial No. 449,226, filed Auv gust 19th, 1908 which are shown as armor plate vaults, in which hardened steel plates which have been treated by the Harvey or other cementation process, are used in constructing the walls of such vaults.

The object of our invention is to provide improved means for securing together the meeting edges of the plates forming the vault and the invention consists in the novel arrangement of the grooves and slots in such plates and in the interlocking means em ployed in connection with such slots in securing the plates together. Y

The invention further consists in the novel means employed bylwhich the interlocking ace.

The invention furidher consists in providing vbars are in position.

means for securing the plates together which are inaccessible from the outside of the vault and means by which movement of the interlocking bars and wedging keys is prevented, after they have been placed inv position in their slots which are located in the inner faces of the plates forming the vault.

In the drawings, 2 and 3 represent the top and bottom plates, 4 and 5 the end plates, and 6, 6 the side plates forming the vault. The edges of the pla-tes are rabbeted so as to form overlapping edges and the plates are connected together at the joints by means of interlocking bars 7 and tapering wedging keys 8 which are inserted in the longitudinal grooves or slots located in the inner surface of the plates and running parallel to the rabbet on the edges of the plates.

The sides of the longitudinal grooves or slots are parallel, part of these slots forming dovetails into which the corresponding dovetailed portion 9 of the interlocking bars are inserted, the balance of the slots having square faces at right angles to one another instead of being dovetailed and the inner edges of said slots are undercut so as to form a recessed groove into which the tongues 10 on the interlocking bars 7 project when these The bars 7 are provided with tapered faces 1]. which by ene gaging with the correspondingly tapered faces 12 on the wedges S draw the engaging faces of the adjoining plates into close contact with one another. The wedges S are made of the same length as the bars and preferably these wedges are of such thickness that the reduced outer end portion 13 projects into the recess beyond the end of the next adjacent bar to that in which the wedge is tightly driven in drawing the meeting edges of the plates together. vlNhen the wedges 8 are formed in this manner, a shallow slot 14 is provided in the reduced end 13 of the wedges to facilitate their removal in dismantling the vault, should it become necessary.

In order to permit the introduction of the interlocking bars 7 into the dovetailed and recessed slots provided in the plates, a recess 15 is provided in each plate, intermediate the length of the slot or groove, and after each of the short bars with their respective wedges have been inserted in place and the wedges have been driven home, filler blocks 16 are placed in each of these recesses 15 and are secured in place preferably by means of tap bolts 17 as shown in Fig. 7.

In the modification shown in it will be noted that instead of having a double tapered dovetailed groove and corresponding dovetail on the end of the interlocking bar 7 one side of the ygroove is straight and the outer face of the interlocking bar 7 correspondingly straight.

In the erection of the vaults the plates which have been machined to thedesired size and shape are assembled in place and.

are preferably heldin position temporarily by any suitable clamping means. The short interlocking bars 7 are then successively `are in contact with each other.

of the bars 7 have been wedged into position7 the filler block 16 is placed in the recess 15 and is held in position by means of the tap bolts 17. The ends of the filler blocks 16 contact with the ends of the bars 7 and prevent their movement endwise.

Although but one plate to each side of the vault is shown in the drawings, it will be understood that the number of plates in any one side of the vault may be varied as is desired, the size of the vault being constructed determining the size and number of' such lates.

vWhile we have described the construction of a vault, the invention is equally applicable v to the construction of small safes when it is desired.

The advantages of our invention are many and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. By employing slots in the inner faces of the plates having parallel edges, the slots are easily and cheaply made and the difficulty experienced in making long tapering slots in the plates is avoided. By providing wedg ing faces on the short interlocking bars and tapering wedging keys which coact with the tapered wedging faces on the interlocking bars and secure the plates together, the parts are easily assembled and are quickly inserted in place, while the number of parts is less ened. The filler blocks securely hold the interlocking bars and wedges in place andany possibility of movement or displacement of these bars is prevented. The interlocking bars and wedging keys are all inserted from the interior of the vault and are inaccessible except from the inside of the vault. Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from our invention.

YIllfe claim z-- 1. A vault orsafe comprising plates'rfitted together at adjoining edges and having paral-V lel sided slots in proximity to said edges, an interlocking bar located in the adjacent slots and a wedging key for said interlocking bars, said key and barhaving Contactin wedging faces for tightening said bar in p ace; substantially as described. j Y

2. A vault or safe comprising plates vfitted together at adjoining edges and having paraL lel sided slots on their inner faces, a plurality of interlocking bars eachV having a tapering wedging face thereonlocated inthe adjacent slots of the adjoining plates, anda plurality of tapering wedging keys arranged Ato contact with the tapering face and secure said interlocking bars in said slots; substantially as described.

3. A vault or safe comprising plates fitted together at adjoining edges and having parallel sided slots on their inner faces, a plurality of interlocking' bars movably secured in the slots of adjoining plates, a plurality of wedging keys contacting with said interlocking bars to secure the interlocking bars in place,

said keys and bars having contacting wedg-l ing faces for tightening the interlocking bars in place and a filler block adapted to prevent movement of said interlocking bars in said slots; substantially as described.

4. A vault or safe having plates fitted to! getlier at adjoining edges of their inner faces disposedY at an angle to each other and with inwardly exposed slots in the'inner faces of the plates located adjacent to the adjoining edges thereof, a locking bar engaging the adjacent slots of adjoining plates to secure said plates together, said locking bar having a tapering wedging face and a wedging key ar ranged to contact with the locking'bar and tightening said bar in position inthe slots; substantially as described.

5. A vault or safe comprisingplates fitted together at adjoining edges and' having grooves or slots on their inner faces at least one of said slots beingrecessed by undercut'- ting its side wall, an interlocking bar engaging adjacent slots on the adjoining plates and having a tongueportion extendindr into the under cut portion of the recessed sIot, and a wedging key airangedto secure said interlocking bar in place the key and bar having contacting tapering wedging faces g substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our'hands. j

LEE H. lBOWMAN GEO. L. DAMON.- Vitnesses:

R. D. LITTLE, I-I. M. .Coiawirt` 

